Newly released images showcase Pluto's stunning geological diversity

Synthetic perspective view of Pluto based on images from New Horizons show a 1,100-mile (1,800-km) swathe of terrain(Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)

NASA has released more breathtaking images from the New Horizons spacecraft's Pluto encounter, showcasing the dwarf planet's surprisingly diverse geological features. The images come in the wake of the probe's high-velocity flyby, during which time the spacecraft collected vast quantities of data on one of the most enigmatic bodies in our solar system.

On September 7, the New
Horizons spacecraft, which at this point is over 3 billion miles (5
billion km) from Earth, initiated an intensive data transfer of
images and information that will take around a year to complete.

Considering that a
signal from the probe takes roughly 4.5 hours to reach Earth, with
only between one and four kilobits of data transmitted per second,
NASA, and onlookers across the globe, have no choice but to be
patient for New Horizons to impart its treasure trove of information.

The newly released
images reveal a lot about the diverse and surprising nature
of Pluto. According to a New Horizons team member, the
dwarf planet is at least as geologically diverse as Mars, and the
discoveries made by New Horizons are not limited to the planet's surface.

Pluto's atmospheric
haze has a more densely layered structure than had previously been
expected, so much so that the gas actually illuminates the dark side
of the dwarf planet. Members of the New Horizons science team believe
that this effect may even have presented unexpected imaging
opportunities for the probe.

The images also appear
to highlight vast dunes and nitrogen flows emanating from mountainous
regions that may themselves be vast chunks of ice water floating on
huge deposits of frozen nitrogen. Furthermore, as on Mars, the images
present evidence of valley networks apparently carved by an unknown flowing material.

"Pluto is showing us
a diversity of landforms and complexity of processes that rival
anything we’ve seen in the solar system," says New Horizons
Principal Investigator Alan Stern, of the South West Research
Institute, Boulder, Colorado. "If an artist had painted this Pluto
before our flyby, I probably would have called it over the top – but
that’s what is actually there."

After flying by on July 14, the New Horizons spacecraft is already 43 million miles
(69 million km) beyond Pluto, yet the mission just keeps giving.
Friday will see the release of more images of the dwarf planet's moons, and more surprises are sure to follow.

10 hours before New Horizons' closest approach to Pluto, the spacecraft snapped this image of Charon from a distance of 290,000 miles (470,000 km)(Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)

Two images of Pluto's haze layers taken looking back at the dwarf planet – the left image has only undergone minor processing while the right has been specially processed to show a number of discrete haze layers(Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)

Synthetic perspective view of Pluto based on images from New Horizons show a 1,100-mile (1,800-km) swathe of terrain(Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)

This high resolution mosaic of the icy plain Sputnik Planum and the surrounding area displays a wide array of geological features(Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)

Two images taken by New Horizons as it focused on the terminator line – the right image displays how future images may show the "dark side" of pluto, which has been illuminated by the dwarf planet's atmospheric haze(Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)